Fresh Feelings

Warning! Image heavy post... and this time I'm not kidding. :] (Sorry for the crappy photos in advance. Most of them were taken in a hurry.)

So I haven't posted anything in quite a while and a lot has happened since then. Not bad things though. Good things! As most of you may know (or not), I want to be housewife in the future. I want to have a family and take care of them. So now I'm having training! Don't laugh. I'm learning the home sciences; cooking/baking/marketing/multitasking/etc. Just so this won't get messy, from here on out I'm listing out my endeavors in their respective categories.

Cooking.
I'm pretty good at following recipes as I'm extremely meticulous so no big problems here. I've already cooked various meals on my own for the whole family and responses have been good. My mum and I take turns cooking the meals and I help her even when it's her turn. I've learned how to cook quite a few dishes but we still haven't cooked bulgogi yet! I follow her to the wet market and watch her buy chicken, fish, vegetables, etc. I try to learn (and I carry all her stuff T.T). All the sellers keep telling my mum what a pretty daughter she has. lol They also say to me that she (my mum) is really clever and no matter what language they speak to her in, she always responds in Malay. doublelol We all had quite a laugh. I also realized I must brush up on my Malay if I want to survive. 0.0 Here's a photo of one of the meals I cooked on my own. I shared this one with my mum. Delicious, even if I do say so myself. :)


Peppered steak served with mushroom sauce, mashed potatoes and boiled carrots.

Baking.
So far baking has been way easier than cooking and I love it! I've baked vanilla cupcakes, cheesecake, banana cake and chocolate chip cookies. They all turned out great and my brothers are lovin' it. They wallop everything as quickly as I make 'em. PS: I LOVE BUTTERCREAM. *grin* Here's a photo of the last piece of cheesecake that is currently in the fridge waiting to meet its maker eater. (Sorry, I was too lazy to snap pics of the other goodies. I think the cupcakes were the prettiest 'cause of the frosting.)


not a no-bake/mock cheesecake. this one went in the oven!

Sewing.
I have sewed three bags already!!! I can't get enough. I think tailoring is my calling. :D My fabric shears and sewing machine are my best friends. I think the vacuum cleaner is getting jealous. I went to Craft World in Taman SEA to buy sewing supplies. (How did I know where to go? I emailed the wonderful owner of I sew! I do! who promptly gave me the info I desired. *sigh* The internet is a wonderful place. lulz) I bought metal sliders, magnetic snaps, thread, interfacing; basically all the things I needed to make my first bag. Which was Heart of Mary's City Backpack. Prior to my Craft World trip, I'd been looking up bag patterns and all kinds of sewing ideas when I chanced upon the City Backpack tutorial. I fell in love with the backpack at first sight. Apparently it is not the easiest bag to sew especially for a first attempt. But I did it! It took a day of nonstop sewing but I did it! In a day! Here is the result... I worked with what I already had in terms of fabric. Good thing the fabric I had matched well as they were both black-based. (Their original destiny was of the dress kind. Ohwelltoobad.)


fabrics used: plain black cotton + printed Japanese cotton (all from KAMDAR)


magnetic snap (from Craft World)


front slip pocket


drawstring closure


lining (w/reading material borrowed from Lerry, leather wallet, measuring tape and Eddie's right leg peeking out <.<")


backside


grab handle


metal sliders & rings (from Craft World and imported from Korea according to their staff, LOL)


how it looks when carried

The second bag I attempted was the Phoebe Bag (Phoebeeeeee! :P) from artsy-crafty babe and it was much easier to sew than the backpack. I finished this one in an evening (I cut out the fabric pieces in the morning, baked the cheesecake and banana cake in the afternoon, then sewed up the bag in the evening after returning from some MidValley grocery shopping. WHEW!). I used the leftover plain green cotton I had from a previous skirt-making project and some new Japanese cotton with a pretty, yellow pansy print I got on sale from Sungei Wang's event hall that KAMDAR was temporarily stationed in for their sale. :) I like how it turned out. Of course the interfacing on this bag was fused better to the fabric as this was my second time around and I more or less knew what I was doing. Once again, I was lucky with the fabric matching. The leftover green I had went perfectly with the new fabric I bought. The backpack was for me and this one was for my mum. She took it out today and likes it very much. *happiiii*


fabrics used: plain green cotton + printed Japanese cotton (all from KAMDAR)


strap


magnetic snap (recycled from another bag)


lining


how it looks when carried


such a happy bag, don't you agree?

Third bag belongs to Jared. He wanted a messenger bag measured to size and so I made it all by myself; without a pattern or tutorial or anything. I winged it, hence the not-as-nice outcome. He didn't want magnetic snap closure and I can't find the Velcro I bought at the moment so right now his bag is still unfinished w/out closure but it can be used.


fabrics used: plain black cotton + plain white cotton + plain green cotton (all from KAMDAR)


flap


strap


lining

Every single bag was machine-sewn by hand from top to bottom. Cutting the fabric was the most tedious part. Coming in a close second was fusing the interfacing to the fabric. The sewing, however, was for the most part enjoyable. I tend to go into sewing frenzies where I forget to eat or drink 'cause I can't stop picturing how the end product will look like and work ruthlessly to finish. I must learn to be less impatient though, because good things take time. :]



Till the next time I have something to say,
Rachel

Yes, we've conquered the war
With love at the core
I stumble, I fall but I'll stay...
Colorblind.

-Colorblind by Overtone